Lift systems are used in hospitals, other health care facilities, and sometimes in home care settings to move a patient from one location to another or to assist the patient in moving. One type of lift system includes a lift motor unit translatably mounted on a rail that extends along the ceiling of the room. The components of the lift motor unit include a motor operably connected to a strap or tether that extends vertically downwardly from the lift motor unit. The lift system also includes a sling bar attached to the end of the tether remote from the motor. The lift system also includes a sling. To use the lift system a caregiver secures a patient in the sling, attaches the sling to the sling bar, and uses a control device to operate the motor to lift the patient to a higher elevation or lower the patient to a lower elevation. In one typical example the caregiver operates the motor to raise the patient off a bed, pulls on the sling to cause the motor unit to translate along the rail until the patient is positioned over a desired destination location, and then operates the motor again to lower the patient to the destination.
Despite the merits and advantages of existing lift systems, manufacturers continue to develop improvements such as those described herein.